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The Oscar for Best Picture last month went to Argo, the Ben Affleck movie about the Canadian government’s help in spiriting U.S. diplomats out of Iran during the hostage crisis – which underscores the United States’ historic relationship with its closest ally, Canada. Back in the real world, however, the Obama administration is on the verge of severely damaging this strategic partnership with its poor handling of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

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Oil and gas spewing from that broken wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico has spread at least as far as the Florida coast, and could go further. Controversy and questions about the relative safety of different kinds of fuel pipelines may have spread over an even wider area -- taking in Washington DC, Alberta, Canada, and a big slice of the U.S. heartland.

from Environment Forum:

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If there's one person the Canadian government would perhaps rather not hear from right now, it's Tim Flannery, the vocal Australian climate change campaigner. Canada, which over the last 20 years or so has largely preferred to let economic development trump environmental concerns, is trying to keep a low profile in the run-up to the Copenhagen meeting in December charged with producing a successor to the Kyoto accord. Canada's Conservative government -- following the lead of former U.S. President George W. Bush -- walked away from Kyoto on the grounds that it would damage the economy. Canada has made an enormous amount of money shipping oil to the United States, much of it from the tar sands in the western province of Alberta. Developing those sands burns up a huge amount of carbon and Canadian emissions are rising steadily, so it's no coincidence that Canada says it is for action on climate change while allowing responsible economic development. Environment Minister Jim Prentice told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp on Wednesday that Canada would bring "a reasonable constructive approach" to Copenhagen. This is a message which wins few friends among environmentalists.

from Environment Forum:

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There's no shortage of references these days in corporate and government reports to earnest, new steps to fight climate change. Often they promise to make carbon emissions cuts equivalent to taking millions of cars off the road...